Universal stretch girdle with abdominal stress control



May 25, 1965 A. N. SPANEL. 3,185,159

UNIVERSAL STRETCH GIRDLE WITH ABDOMINAL STRESS CONTROL Filed June 29, 1951 FIG}. FIG.4.

INVENTOR Abraham N. Spunel United States Patent 3,185,159 UNIVERSAL S'IRETtZH (HR LE WITH ABDGMINAL STRESS CSNTROL Abraham N. Spanel, Irinceton, N.J., assignor to International Latex Corporation, Dover, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed lune 29, 1961, Ser. No. 125L552 4 Claims. ((31. 128--521) My invention relates to a universal stretch girdle, made of rubber, provided with abdominal stress control means.

Rubber girdles, and especially seamless dipped latex girdles as disclosed in my earlier Patent 2,360,736, possess many advantages over one-way or two-way stretch fabric girdles. Rubber girdles have universal stretch in all directions. This gives a greater combination of control with comfort: firming the hips, flattening the stomach, and at the same time giving the wearer a sensation of smooth, evenly distributed, flexible restraint. The thin continuous elastic sheet with essentially equal stretch in all directions is characterized by a supple resilience which everywhere molds and shapes the human torso which it encircles, while deftly accommodating iteslf in fit to the figure. This gives a sheath so smooth and flexible that, even by touch, it is not easily revealed that the user is wearing a figure-control garment. Indeed it is as though the wearer had an additional skin of her own, firm and supporting in character, yet non-revealing by nature.

The universal stretch of the rubber girdle provides a gentle shaping in a more evenly distributed manner, over every minute area of the rubber surface. In a one-way or two-way stretch girdle, the pressure is not as universally distributed, causing an awkward and uneven distribution of the flesh, often defeating the purpose for which a girdle is worn.

It has been found that an important advantage of a girdle of thin, universal stretch sheet rubber is the 'dis tinctly better appearance of the clothing when worn over such a girdle as contrasted with other types. The clothing appears smoother and more natural, and the freedom of the girdle from surface irregularities permits closely fitted clothes to be worn without disfigurement.

There are a variety of other advantages deriving from a girdle of this type. It has distinct advantages in its straightforward method of fabrication. The deposited latex embodiment may be made by dipping a form into liquid latex to build up the formed article. The final product is easier to clean and therefore more hygienic than a cloth girdle, and possesses significant advantage thereover in drying time after laundering, it being appreciated that it is desirable that a girdle of any sort be washed after each wearing, thus giving rise to the problem of length of drying time.

The gentle shaping and even distribution of pressure in a universal stretch girdle made of rubber may be locally accentuated to control a bulging abdomen, as was first shown in Patent No. 2,830,591. In that patent, I found that the control of abdominal stresses produced by a bulging abdomen is aided by the universal stretch characteristics of a rubber girdle which tend to resolve the forces into peripheral stresses.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide means for diverting the peripheral abdominal forces into a new stress pattern, thereby adding new abdominal control and comfort to the universal stretch rubber girdle.

I accomplish the foregoing object by providing an unstretchable, longitudinally extending band along each lateral area of the abdominal portion. The unstretchable band in a universal stretch area diverts the ab- 3,l5,l59 Patented May 25, 1%55 ice dominal forces into forming the new stress pattern which aids control, and provides greater comfort.

The unstretchable band itself may be divided longitudinally without disturbing the new stress pattern. Thus I have found that I can also incorporate a conventional closure means in the band contained in the universal stretch wall for enlarging the waist opening, making the girdle more convenient. A further object, therefore, consists in extending the unstretchable bands to the upper edge of the rubber girdle and incorporating closure means in the bands, for enlarging the waist opening.

Additionally, I have'found that the unstretchable bands may be extended all the way from the upper margin to the lower edge of the rubber girdle, which bands, when provided with the aforesaid closure means, enable the entire abdominal panel to be removed or exchanged. Accordingly, another object consists in providing a universal stretch girdle made of rubber having unstretchable bands defining the abdominal section, which section can then be detached from the girdle completely and can be interchangeable.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a representative girdle showing representative relative dimensions from the center of the abdominal area to different points along the side edge;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of a universal stretch rubber girdle in accordance with my invention incorporating a pair of generally symmetrical, unstretchable, longitudinally extending bands;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of another embodiment illustrating the features of having the unstretchable bands extend all the way from top edge to bottom edge, and also illustrating the feature of having them split to serve as closures as well; and

FIGURE 4 is a composite front elevation showing diagrammatically how some of the stress lines may extend in the embodiments of FIGURES 2 and 3.

As seen in FIGURE 1, a girdle 10 to which my present invention may be applied comprises a thin rubber sheath, preferably a one-piece seamless sheath of deposited latex, generally homogeneous and uniform in thickness, having universal stretch characteristics as indicated by the stretch star 12 applied in FIGURE 1 to the body of the garmerit. Point A is representative of the central area of the abdomen where an outward force vector may appear in use, from the tendency of the abdominal area to bulge outward.

It will be understood that a most important function of a girdle is to flatten the abdominal region, and that considerable stress forces are involved in doing so. The shortest locus of stress absorption for these forces is a narrow band extending girthwise from the abdomen, and there is thus a tendency for these stresses to be concentrated in that narrow band, with discomfort to the wearer and distortion to the figure. The limit of acceptable pull on the body around that concentrated band tends moreover to limit the ability of a girdle to perform the function of flattening the abdomen. The present invention enhances that ability by providing improved stress-distributing means Which distributes that front center stress more equally along the height of the sides of the hips thus making possible all at the same time more flattening of abdominal bulge, greater comfort to the wearer, and more smoothly molded figure control.

It will be noted that the horizontal distance from Point A to the side of the girdle is less than the obtuse distances, up to the diagonal distance to the upper corner which is anchored on the hip bone. That is, the radial lines differ in length, the mid-girth lines being shortest. In the representative example illustrated in 3 FIGURE 1, the radial distance (from the center of the abdominal area to the edge of the girdle) ranges as follows:

7 Inches L (to top of girdle) 11 L /4 Way down) 9 L /2 way down) 8% L way down) 9%. L (to bottom of girdle) 11 /3 It is thus seen that the mid-girth lines, such as L are significantly shorter than the other radiating lines. It will also be recalled that if two elastic bands of different lengths are stretched by the same incremental length, the shorter band experiences a greater stretch force because it is stretched by a greater percent of its original length.

As a result, in the girdle of FIGURE 1 the lateral stretch vectors, produced by the perpendicular vector from outward bulging at A, are greatest in the horizontal zone and progressively less in the more obtuse zones up to the diagonal running to the upper corner. Thus a degree of localized concentration of force tends to be present, falling short of the even, smooth distribution which I propose to attain.

The present invention retains the suppleness and desirable characteristics of the elastic sheet rubber material which stretches substantially equally in all directions, while it mitigates the undesired stress concentration which was described above. This is accomplished by incorporating in at least the upper portion of the two lateral halves of the front of a girdle whose main body is made of universal stretch sheet rubber having a circumference less than the circumference of the body to thereby cause the girdle to embrace the body restrictively, a pair of spaced, laterally symmetrical, unstretchable straight tapes which extend in a line oblique to .the upper diagonal radius. This statement will be developed and delineated as the specification proceeds.

The tape assembly is unstretchable, in the present context. That is, it has so little stretchability in any stressed direction that it functions in the present combination in essentially the same way as it would if it had literally zero stretchability. Since everything has some finite degree of stretchability we may define unstretchable in this patent as meaning of insignificant degree of stretchability for present purposes. A sample tape of a preferred form as will be described herein had (after the application of a light initial stress to take out any pucker) a measurable longitudinal stretch of between one and two percent with a ten pound load and less than three percent with a fifty pound load. To illustrate the great contrast: the sheet rubber body of the girdle has a stretch of some 250 percent under a ten pound load for a strip of the same dimensions.

The term tape or tape assembly as used herein means a relatively long band which is flexible, even though not stretchable. Preferably it is made of cloth, such as a heavy nylon ribbon of tight twill weave, or an assembly of two or more associated ribbons having in addition to the non-stretchable characteristic discussed aboveadequate strength to withstand the maximum stresses encountered without breaking threads and losing its tensile strength. The advantages of the invention are more fully attained when the tape is of substantial but not excessive width, such for example as an inch and a half wide. If they are too narrow they do not intercept enough stretch path. If they are too wide they reduce the girthwise stretch by too much.

The location of the tapes in at least the upper portion requires that some or all of each tape extend in the space between the top and the midheight of the girdle. The tapes may extend the entire length of the girdle, as will be exemplified later herein, but for stress distribution the upper portion is the more important, for thus abdominal stress is diverted to the portion of the body best adapted to anchor that stress, and is diverted upwardly against the tendency of downward sag.

The unstretchable tapes each extend in a generally vertical orientation, which is symmetrical as to both, and they may angle either in or out toward the top.

There must be at least two such tapes, and they must be generally symmetrically disposed in location as well as orientation, for otherwise less than half of the stress equilization function is accomplished (as can be mathematically demonstrated), and that at the price of lateral distortion. The two tapes must be in the two lateral halves of the front of the girdle in order to lead stresses out toward the vicinity of the hip bones where the pull can be anchored; leading the forces to the bowed curve of the front center does not bring them to an anchor point; thus to get the full benefit of the invention the tapes should come close to the hip bones. Moreover the tapes should be straight enough so that straight stress paths can run their full lengths, else their unstretchable character may as to some of the stresses be defeated by mere straightening out of curvature which is mechanically equivalent to stretchability.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURE 2. The body of the girdle 10 is made of sheet rubber of generally uniform thickness and generally uniform modulus of elasticity in all directions. It has waist and leg openings top and bottom. Tapes 14 extend down from the top where they are about a quarter to a half of the way from the side to the middle. They constitute abdominal control and support means and lie along the lateral areas of the abdominal region. They extend down as far as desired, one desirable length of extent, just short of half way, being shown in FIGURE 2. In the example illustrated, these tapes are of heavy fabric, preferably nylon, of uniform width. They should be of width sufficient to substantially compensate the stress paths but not so wide as to substantially interfere with the resilient character of the encircling garment of stretchable rubber. They may be 1 /2" wide as illustrated, and they are securely sewed at their edges to the sheet of deposited latex which forms the girdle body.

FIGURE 4, at its left half, illustrates how stress lines L from an abdominal budge tend to be distributed with this embodiment. The slope of the stress lines progresses toward the vertical as we move up from the midheight along the left edge. As a result the stress lines progressively have greater parts of their length lying in the unstretchable tape. Because stress lines tend to dog-leg a little under such circumstances, effectively even greater portions of the longer stress lines that slope up toward the hipbone region are unstretchable. The unstretchable portions of the stress paths are illustrated in heavy black lines in FIGURE 4. Thus the stretchable path length remains more nearly constant and the stresses transmitted are more nearly equally distributed over a large portion of the side of the hip.

Within the teaching and the advantages of the invention, the length, orientation, and other parameters of the tapes that are illustrated in FIGURE 2 may be varied. FIGURE 3 serves to illustrate a number of variations, which of course can be utilized in part or in whole, and singly and in other desired combinations,, as well as in the combination illustrated here. In FIGURE 3 the girdle body 29 has tapes 22 which are divided longitudinally,

and then reunited bysubstantially continuous and unstretchable, but flexible, closures such as zipper lengths 24. If the zipper lengths extend even only part way down they add the advantage of rather complete opening up of the top portion of the garment. As this narrowest part must be pulled up over the widest part of the hips, this opening up makes the girdle much easier to put on. The symmetry of opening, with the two zippers, makes symmetrical positioning on the body easier. In the embodiment as illustrated in FIGURE 3 the tapes are somewhat angled in as they go down; and the tapes, together with the zipper lengths, extend the entire length of the garment from top edge to bottom edge. This enables the entire front panel 26 to be separated from the body 20 of the girdle. If the panel 26 is also of sheet rubber like the body of the girdle the stress analysis indicated in FIGURE 4 will hold unchanged except that it extends for the entire length of the garment, as shown in the right-hand portion of FIGURE 4. If the front panel 26 is of some other material the results will be different in degree but, for normal material for such use, not different in kind.

It will thus be appreciated that when relatively inelastic cloth is used for the front panel, and it is oriented with its threads running horizontal and vertical as it is often desired to do, the present invention will even in that case exert a beneficent influence in the stress distribution of the garment. It will be appreciated that a removable front panel offers a number of advantageous possibilities, such as (for the store) stocking different sizes by just stocking different front panels, and (for the customer) converting from a tighter dress girdle to a less tight girdle for more casual wear by simply changing a front panel of one size and material, to another of different size or material or both.

It will be appreciated that practical compromise is often better than idealization, and the benefits of easier manufacture, lower cost, and ease of incorporating the tapes or other bonds as taught herein may dictate considerable variation from the specific examples hereof. While I have illustrated certain illustrative embodiments of my invention, it will be appreciated that the scope of the patent extends to all its novel teachings Within the fair scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A universal stretch girdle made of sheet rubber of generally uniform thickness and uniform modulus of elasticity in all radial directions, provided with waist and leg openings, having a circumference less than the circumference of the body to thereby cause the girdle to embrace the body restrictively, said girdle having a front abdominal region having lateral areas positioned between the sides of the girdle and the center of the abdominal region, provided with an abdominal control and support means comprising a plurality of unstretchable longitudinally extending straight flexible tapes positioned symmetrically on the rubber wall and stitched thereto, one along each of the lateral areas of the abdominal region when in position on the body and each having a uniform width suflicient to substantially compensate the stress paths but not so wide as to substantially interfere with the resilient character of the encircling garment of stretchable rubber, and extend approximately vertically down from the top edge of the girdle for a length not less than the longitudinal extent of the abdominal region, to provide a means for more nearly equalizing stresses in the universal stretch rubber Wall, resulting in increased control, support and comfort.

2. Girdle as in claim 1 in which the tapes are divided longitudinally and provided with substantially continuous non-stretchable flexible closure means.

3. Girdle as in claim 1 in which the tapes extend from the top edge of the girdle to the bottom edge of the girdle.

4. Girdle as in claim 3 in which the tapes are divided longitudinally and provided for their entire lengths with substantially continuous non-stretchable flexible closure means whereby, among other results, the front panel is interchangeable.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,577,269 3/26 Thompson 128-521 2,132,033 10/38 Kapinas 128-533 2,365,016 12/44 Spanel 128-521 2,596,155 5/52 Kleinman 128-561 2,708,271 5/55 Steinberg 128-521 2,830,591 4/58 Spanel et al. 128-521 2,880,733 4/59 Steiner 128-554 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner.

ADELE M. EAGER, Examiner. 

1. A UNIVERSAL STRETCH GIRDLE MADE OF SHEET RUBBER OF GENERALLY UNIFORM THICKNESS AND UNIFORM MODULUS OF ELASTICITY IN ALL RADIAL DIRECTIONS, PROVIDED WITH WAIST AND LEG OPENING, HAVING A CIRCUMFERENCE LESS THAN THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE BODY TO THEREBY CAUSE THE GIRDLE TO EMBRACE THE BODY RESTRICTIVELY, SAID GRIDLE HAVING A FRONT ABDOMINAL REGION HAVING LATERAL AREAS POSITIONED BETWEEN THE SIDES OF THE GRIDLE AND THE CENTER OF THE ABODMINAL REGION, PROVIDED WITH A ABDOMINAL CONTROL AND SUPPORT MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF UNSTRETCHABLE LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING STRAIGHT FLEXIBLE TAPES POSITIONED SYMMETRICALLY ON THE RUBBER WALL AND STITCHED THERETO, ONE ALONG EACH OF THE LATERAL AREAS OF THE ABDOMINAL REGION WHEN THE POSITION ON THE BODY AND EACH HAVING A UNIFORM WIDTH SUFFICIENT TO SUBSTANTIALLY COMPENSATE THE STRESS PATHS BUT NOT 